Survivor: Exile Island - Advice for the Remaining 12

It seems strange. Just last week, Shane noted that La Mina sending Bruce back to Exile Island was “playing for keeps.” However, he had no problems doing the exact same thing in the last episode, sending the provider Terry out to Exile Island, with a whole laundry list of ways his tribe would suffer in his absence.

Perhaps his tribe did suffer, but Terry sure didn’t. He had fire, and presumably water, but more importantly, he dug up the hidden immunity idol. At some point that is going to send a nasty shock back to somebody who thought they had the game figured out when votes against Terry are discarded and somebody else goes home instead. Potentially, this could reverse the game if there is a battle for control of the tribe after a merge.

Hopefully, Terry did the smart thing and covered his tracks. Leaving a big open hole in the ground can only be interpreted two ways: somebody has found the idol, or is trying to leave the impression they found the idol. If I couldn’t figure out how to disguise the evidence of the hole, I’d have dug similar holes under various random rocks on the island to give the impression that there was a search, though it might have been fruitless. As for the box and broken bottle, they either need to be buried somewhere in the blacked out area on the map or sunk at sea as far from Exile Island as possible.

Casaya won both challenges, earning themselves an outhouse as a reward, complete with towels, a bush shower with fresh water, and toilet paper. Interestingly, unlike Palau, where the shower and fresh water caused divisions in the tribe, it was the outhouse that fractured the tribe, with Shane and Aras wanting to use it as a shelter for firewood, and Bobby using it for its intended purpose. Danielle noted Bobby didn’t have respect for the tribe by doing so, but this tribe doesn’t seem to get along with each other very well anyway. Courtney, Danielle, and Bobby are seen as lazy by some, while Cirie loves the drama in the tribe, as it makes it more likely the alliance will self-destruct, to her benefit.

La Mina, while having a better camp life, has lost three challenges in a row and is two members down. However, while there are a strong four in the alliance, Sally is an outsider. She is much more likely to go for a new deal if one comes up after the merge. However, due to the political instability in Casaya, it’s going to be impossible to tell what is going to happen at this point.

Given the myriad of possibilities everybody still has a chance at the game. What should each Survivor be doing to make it further and possibly win? It’s advice for the remaining 12.

Casaya: Well done in winning both challenges, even if it was by a slim margin. Still, you have some serious divisions in your tribe. All of you need to have a bit more respect for each other and make some attempt to get along, or you will self-destruct when you eventually merge.

Aras: While you may have agreed with Shane that Danielle didn’t work as hard as others, you could have been a bit more diplomatic in the way you handled it. It made Danielle mad, and while it got work out of her in digging the new fire pit, it didn’t endear you to her. The same goes with the Courtney situation. While you are understandably upset that she’s not doing much of anything while you, Shane, and Bruce are out getting food, calling her out on it isn’t a good idea. You may feel bound by your word, but others in the game may not be as willing to ally with people they don’t like.

Shane: You keep picking fights with your allies, which is making you vulnerable to the vote at Tribal Council. Like Aras, you might be right about Danielle and Courtney’s contributions to camp life, but you are ticking them off. You need to talk less and stop picking fights with your allies - or break your oath and change the alliance to a group of people you get along with.

Courtney: It’s interesting that while tribes often split among lazy people and hard workers, your Nutball Alliance has a cross section of both. One way or another, you are going to have to fit in. It might be by going out to collect snails with them, or by keeping the fire going, or it might be getting out of the alliance and forming a new one. In any case, you’ll need to adjust your game plan according to the way events are playing out.

Danielle: There is probably some truth in what Cirie said regarding the amount of work you do around camp. You do work, but not as much as some of the others. Like the others in the Nutball Alliance, you’ll need to decide if that is what you want long term, and either stick with it or make new plans.

Cirie: By working hard and watching the alliance crumble around you, you are slowing putting yourself in a better position in the game. However, you can’t keep waiting for it to collapse on its own. I think your response to Shane’s opinion poll was diplomatic, but you need to approach one side or the other and try to deal with them on their level, telling Danielle that she works as hard, or going back to the men, saying that you agree with their assessment, and asking if they want to carry the whole load of camp work. The alliance cracks need to become a break for you to continue in the game.